MLB roundup: Puig hits 3 HRs, Dodgers atop NL West

Yasiel Puig hit three home runs for the first time in his career on Saturday to give him five homers in two days and added seven RBIs as the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers grabbed sole possession of first place in the National League West with a 17-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Cody Bellinger homered and drove in six runs, and Manny Machado also went deep as the Dodgers passed Colorado in the division. The Rockies lost late to San Francisco and are a half-game up on the Cardinals for the second wild card.

The Dodgers have won the first three games of a four-game series at St. Louis after the Cardinals earned a three-game sweep at Los Angeles last month. The Dodgers have outscored the Cardinals 29-11 in the series.

Puig went deep in the fourth, fifth and eighth innings to give him 21 home runs on the season. He had a chance for a fourth home run in the ninth inning but popped out to shortstop.

Giants 3, Rockies 0

Madison Bumgarner extended his consecutive-innings scoreless streak at home to 20 and helped his own cause with a double, delivering San Francisco a second straight shutout over Colorado.

Bumgarner (6-6), who had blanked Arizona and Houston for seven innings apiece in his previous two home games, limited the Rockies to five hits in his six-inning effort. He walked one and struck out two.

After Bumgarner left a 3-0 game, Tony Watson struck out all three batters he faced in the seventh inning, Mark Melancon pitched around a Nolan Arenado double in the eighth and closer Will Smith worked a one-hit ninth for his 12th save.

Astros 10, Diamondbacks 4

Marwin Gonzalez and Yuli Gurriel keyed three-run innings with two-run singles, and Houston squared its interleague series with visiting Arizona.

The Astros broke free offensively and extended their lead in the American League West over Oakland to 3 1/2 games in the process. George Springer finished 4-for-5 with three runs scored while Jose Altuve went 2-for-3 with three runs and two RBIs.

The Diamondbacks fell four games back of Los Angeles in the National League West and 3 1/2 back of Colorado in the hunt for the second NL wild card. Zack Godley (14-10) allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits and six walks over 3 2/3 innings.

Indians 15, Tigers 0

Francisco Lindor and Michael Brantley hit back-to-back home runs to ignite a six-run first-inning outburst, and Cleveland clinched the American League Central for the third consecutive season by overwhelming visiting Detroit.

Every player in the Indians’ starting lineup knocked in at least one run. Jose Ramirez and Yonder Alonso each had three hits, three runs scored and two RBIs. Edwin Encarnacion supplied two hits, three runs scored and two RBIs while Brantley contributed two hits and three runs scored.

Mike Clevinger (12-8) held the Tigers to one hit in six innings and struck out five.

Rays 7, Athletics 5

Jake Bauers belted a three-run home run off Jeurys Familia to break an eighth-inning tie and propel Tampa Bay past visiting Oakland.

The A’s had a chance to pick up ground on the New York Yankees in the battle for the first American League wild-card spot, but failed to do so and remained 1 1/2 games behind.

After the A’s had rallied twice from two-run deficits, the Rays took the lead for good in the eighth when Familia (4-2) sandwiched a strikeout between walks to Joey Wendle and Brandon Lowe. Bauers then crushed his 11th home run of the season to right field to break a 4-4 tie and put Tampa Bay up by three.

Blue Jays 8, Yankees 7

CC Sabathia put New York in an early hole by allowing three homers in 2 1/3 innings, and a late rally fell short against visiting Toronto.

Sabathia (7-7) allowed five runs on seven hits in his shortest outing in more than three years. Randal Grichuk homered in consecutive at-bats, and Kevin Pillar also homered off the left-hander.

Yankees rookie Miguel Andujar slugged a grand slam in the seventh off Tyler Clippard to make it a one-run game. Andujar’s second career grand slam occurred after Giancarlo Stanton and Didi Gregorius hit solo homers.

Red Sox 5, Mets 3

Jackie Bradley Jr. and Brock Holt each delivered two-run doubles in the fifth inning for host Boston, which went on to defeat New York.

By virtue of their win and a Yankees loss, the Red Sox cut their magic number for winning the American League East to four. The Mets fell to 10-4 this month.

Rick Porcello (17-7) allowed three runs on two hits and one walk while striking out five.

Cubs 1, Reds 0

Jon Lester continued his mastery of Cincinnati as host Chicago won in a shutout.

The Cubs, who are trying to hold off Milwaukee in the National League Central, won their third straight game.

Lester (16-6) allowed two hits in seven innings, with two walks and nine strikeouts. Cubs manager Joe Maddon used three relievers in the ninth, with each getting one out. Steve Cishek earned his fourth save of the season.

The Brewers, who had their two-game winning streak halted, fell 2 1/2 games behind first-place Chicago in the National League Central. Milwaukee holds a 3 1/2-game lead over Colorado for the top NL wild-card spot.

Colin Moran and Francisco Cervelli each had an RBI double for the Pirates, who have won two of three.

Nationals 7, Braves 1

Adam Eaton and Anthony Rendon both drove in two runs, and rookie Juan Soto made history on the bases as Washington cruised to victory at Atlanta.

The Nationals turned the game into a track meet at times with six stolen bases, led by Soto with three. The 19-year-old left fielder became the youngest player since 1900 to swipe three bags in one game.

The Phillies, who are in second place and 6 1/2 games back of Atlanta in the National League East, rallied from a four-run deficit to win their second in a row. The last-place Marlins suffered their fifth consecutive defeat.

Both starters dominated much of the game as neither team got a runner into scoring position until Baltimore put one at second with two outs in the fifth but stranded him.

Lopez (6-9) allowed four hits and struck out six against one walk. Juan Minaya took care of the final four outs and earned his first save.

Royals 10, Twins 3

Alex Gordon had three hits and five RBIs to help Kansas City to a rout of visiting Minnesota.

Cam Gallagher was 4-for-4 with one RBI, and Alcides Escobar added three hits and three RBIs for the Royals, who have won the first three games of the four-game series.

Royals starter Ian Kennedy (2-8) allowed two runs (one earned), six hits and two walks with four strikeouts in six innings for his first win since April 7, a span of 17 winless outings that included a stint on the disabled list.

Rangers 6, Padres 3

Robinson Chirinos highlighted a five-run sixth inning with a three-run double as Texas overcame a 3-1 deficit to win at San Diego.

Texas took a 1-0 lead in the second when Joey Gallo homered to right-center off Eric Lauer. First baseman Eric Hosmer put the Padres ahead 3-1 in the third with a three-run homer — his 17th homer of the season and fourth in the last seven games.

Ariel Jurado (3-5) followed “opener” Alex Claudio and allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks over four innings to get credit for the win. Jose Leclerc picked up his 11th save.

Mariners 6, Angels 5

Robinson Cano’s two-out, three run double in the eighth inning completed a rally from a four-run deficit to lift Seattle to a win at Los Angeles.

The Angels got within 6-5 in the bottom of the ninth on a solo homer by Justin Upton, his second homer of the game and No. 29 on the season. But Edwin Diaz was able to close it out for his 55th save.

With the win, the Mariners moved to within 7 1/2 games of Oakland for the second wild-card spot in the American League. The Mariners have 14 games remaining.